CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- GREAT ART SHOULD SLOW US DOWN: "PARTICIPATIVE THINKING" IN THE WORLD AND AS THE WORLD OF CARYL EMERSON David Bethea -- 1 POLYPHONY AND THE CARNIVALESQUE: INTRODUCING THE TERMS -- 2 THE EARLY PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS -- 3 COMING TO TERMS WITH CARNIVAL -- 4 GASPAROV AND BAKHTIN -- 5 FOUR PUSHKIN BIOGRAPHIES -- 6 PUSHKIN'S TATIANA -- 7 PUSHKIN'S BORIS GODUNOV -- 8 GEORGE STEINER ON TOLSTOY OR DOSTOEVSKY -- 9 TOLSTOY AND DOSTOEVSKY ON EVIL DOING -- 10 KUNDERA ON NOT LIKING DOSTOEVSKY -- 11 PARINI ON TOLSTOY, WITH A POSTSCRIPT ON TOLSTOY, SHAKESPEARE, AND THE PERFORMING ARTS -- 12 CHEKHOV AND THE ANNAS -- 13 FOREWORD TO RICHARD TARUSKIN'S ESSAYS ON MUSORGSKY -- 14 FROM "BORIS GODUNOV" TO "KHOVANSHCHINA" -- 15 TUMANOV ON MARIA OLENINA D'ALHEIM -- 16 TCHAIKOVSKY'S TATIANA -- 17 LITTLE OPERAS TO PUSHKIN'S LITTLE TRAGEDIES -- 18 PLAYBILL TO PROKOFIEV'S "WAR AND PEACE" AT THE MET -- 19 SHOSTAKOVICH'S "LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK" -- 20 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY'S BORIS GODUNOV -- 21 "EUGENE ONEGIN" ON THE STALINIST STAGE -- IN CONCLUSION -- INDEX.